Triggering of Television Advertisements

Abstract

A method for providing television advertising includes determining a number of times that an advertisement has been presented to a user via a digital home communication terminal (DHCT), and presenting the advertisement only if it is determined that the advertisement has been presented less than a predetermined number of times.

1 . A method for providing television advertising, comprising: 
 determining a number of times that an advertisement has been presented to a user via a digital home communication terminal (DHCT); and    presenting the advertisement only if it is determined that the advertisement has been presented less than a predetermined number of times.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the number of times that the advertisement has been presented via the DHCT further comprises determining whether user input is received when the advertisement is presented.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the number of times that the advertisement has been presented via the DHCT further comprises tracking the number of times the advertisement has been presented over a predetermined period of time.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the number of times that the advertisement has been presented via the DHCT further comprises determining the number of times that the advertisement has been presented via the DHCT and additional DHCTs.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the number of times that the advertisement has been presented via the DHCT further comprises comparing the number of times with a predetermined number.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising deleting the advertisement from local storage responsive to determining that the advertisement has been presented the predetermined number of times.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the number of times that the advertisement has been presented via the DHCT further comprises soliciting user input and determining whether user input is received responsive to the solicitation.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein soliciting user input comprises soliciting user input during or after presentation of the advertisement.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising soliciting user input before presentation of the advertisement, wherein determining the number of times that the advertisement has been presented via the DHCT further comprises determining whether user input is received responsive to the solicitation.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining further comprises determining whether the television is turned on when the advertisement is presented to the television.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein determining whether the television is turned on comprises determining whether user input related to an operation of the television had been received by the DHCT.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the operation of the television corresponds to at least one of volume control and channel navigation.  
     
     
         13 . A system for providing television advertising, comprising: 
 a memory with logic; and    a processor configured with the logic to: 
 determine whether an advertisement has been presented to a user less than a predetermined number of times; and  
 present the advertisement responsive to the determination that the advertisement has been presented less than a predetermined number of times, otherwise not present the advertisement.  
   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to determine whether the advertisement has been presented to the user by determining whether user input is received when the advertisement is presented.  
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to determine whether the advertisement has been presented to the user by tracking the number of times the advertisement has been presented over a predetermined period of time.  
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to delete the advertisement from a storage device responsive to determining that the advertisement has been presented the predetermined number of times or greater.  
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to solicit user input and determine whether user input is received responsive to the solicitation.  
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to solicit user input during or after presentation of the advertisement.  
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to determine whether the television is turned on when the advertisement is presented to the television by determining whether user input related to an operation of the television is received.  
     
     
         20 . A system for providing television advertising, comprising: 
 means for determining a number of times that an advertisement has been presented to a user via a digital home communication terminal (DHCT); and    means for presenting the advertisement only if it is determined that the advertisement has been presented less than a predetermined number of times.